


Til Death Us do Part

by anri



Series: YouTuber au [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Youtuber AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-29 07:17:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6364585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anri/pseuds/anri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kenma and Kuroo have been together since before they can properly remember, so it only seems natural that they'd get married young as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the disappointment preface of the probably even more disappointing synopsis of KuroKen in the YouTuber au, please leave your expectations here.

Having dinner together was a regular thing in their household - all of their jobs seemed to correlate (except for Akaashi, but Akaashi's job doesn't correlate with _anything_ ), so it was easier to have one big meal. Usually it's Bokuto, or Kenma who makes the food. Those two were the only competent cooks in the house. Akaashi and Kuroo were content on being the dishwashers. They were sat at the table, conversation flowing. And then Bokuto mentioned it. "Isn't your wedding anniversary coming up, Kuroo?"

There was a moment of silence at the table as Kuroo and Kenma consider the words, and Bokuto eagerly waited for an answer, and Akaashi tries to inhale air before realising he was choking. And then it wasn't so silent as Keiji doubled over to try and get the potato he'd inhaled out of his lungs. When he looked back up with teary eyes, the entire group was watching him. "Are you quite done?" Kuroo asked unsympathetically.

"You're _married_?" was all Akaashi could form. Kuroo raised an eyebrow, and Kenma just sighed, looking down at his plate, picking at something to distract himself.

"Uh...yeah?"

"What? You and Kenma?"

"...Yeah..."

"For how long?" he asked, stabbing his chopsticks accusingly across the table. Kuroo and Kenma looked at each other, and then at Bokuto.

"Like, seven years or something?"

" _Seven years_? You're twenty-six!"

"We got married just after Kenma left high school."

"But - you don't wear rings," Akaashi argued. He was still baffled. He knew they were a couple. But he just assumed that was it. He didn't think they'd have been married for so long. They just didn't seem like the type. "Rings are expensive," Kuroo mumbled, putting his arm around Kenma. "We keep meaning to invest in them, but something else comes up." Akaashi turned to his own boyfriend, glaring at him accusingly.

"How come you know?" he asks, feeling somewhat betrayed that he was left out of the loop. He knew he'd only been in the house for about ten months - less than a year, but still. Marriage is...it's important. "I was there when they got married," Bokuto shrugged. Everyone was acting like it was no big deal. They'd been married for seven years.

"Why so young?" He asked after a moment of silence. Kuroo sighed,

"Are you going to ask a lot of questions?"

" _Yes_. I just found out my housemates are married, of course there's going to be a lot of questions."

"We've dated since we were kids. Like, since elementary school. Before we knew what homosexuality was, or whatever. We were just...together. We've never really officially started a relationship, it's just kept going. And I guess older people always told us that...that like, you can't love someone properly if you've only known them in high school. But I've been with Kenma for ten years or so, before I left high school. And I know couples who get married at four years. It just felt like something official for us to do, to mark a proper start to our life together. So, we did it. Are you happy now?"

Akaashi narrowed his eyes at Kuroo, but kept silent.

 

Bokuto cuddles up to him on the sofa later, but Akaashi stayed where he was. Stiff. "Are you still mad about the marriage thing?"

"No."

Bokuto sighed, and pulled out his phone. "I think I have a couple of the pictures saved. It was a really small affair, really. There were like twelve people there. Like their families, me, and Yaku-"

"So Yaku knows as well?"

"C'mon Akaashi, it's not that big of a deal," he said, continuing to scroll. "See? It really wasn't that huge of an event."

Akaashi zooms in on the picture. Kenma and Kuroo were at the centre, surrounded by who he remembered as their parents, Kenma's grandparents, Kuroo's sisters, and Bokuto and Yaku. They all looked different, but the same at the same time. Akaashi zoomed in on everyone's faces, looking over the happy couple.

Except they didn't look happy.

Kuroo was tense, and he was putting on that face he made when he was trying desperately to hide his anxiety. And Kenma was leaning heavily against him. Kuroo's arm was around him, and at first Akaashi had thought it was the loving touch of a newlywed, but now he saw it was more for support than anything else. And Kenma looked so tired. His hair looked thin, and his frame looked so much tinier than it did now - if that was even possible. He looked exhausted and pained but he also looked so grateful.

"Kenma's ill," Akaashi whispered. He knew that. He knew Kenma was chronically ill. No one had expressly said it, but he pieced it together, from the medications he took, to the frequent hospital appointments. Bokuto nodded, taking his phone back, regarding the picture for a moment before putting it back in his pocket. "Back then, he just started getting sick. Nobody knew what it was, and we were tryna find out. Kuroo was scared, I think, that the worst might happen. Kenma, too. So getting hitched seem like something that would keep them close."

"Right."

Bokuto put his arm around him, and Akaashi sighed. "I can't believe nobody told me," he sighed.

"Well - you know now, right? Better late than never!"

"Don't we have to give them gifts now?"

"Oh shit, I guess you're right."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief synopsis of KuroKen in the YouTuber au

It was summer when it happened, when Kuroo's life changed for the better. He was six years old, and he was lying in the grass, dozing in the heat. "Tetsu!" his older sister called, and he rolled over lazily.

"Hmm?"

"We have new neighbours, across the way."

"Yeah? And?"

"There's a boy, about your age, I figured you'd  want to meet a new friend."

He thought for a second before slowly sitting up. His sister smiled at him, ushering him inside. "They're just unpacking now," she mumbled. He followed her around the side of the house. His mother was chatting to a small women outside, while moving men moved in and out of the house quickly with boxes. Tetsurou's mum seemed to eclipse the other woman. She was bigger - taller, wider than the other woman. There was an older couple with greying hair ferrying some of the things inside. And a boy sat on the pavement. He was tiny, a little block gaming device held in his hot little hands. His hair curtained his face. Kuroo bounded up. "Hello," he said, brushing his hair out of his face messily. The boy looked up suddenly, his eyes wide. "Hi," he replied, his voice small.

"I'm Kuroo Tetsurou."

"...Kozume...Kenma..."

"I'm six years old, how old are you?"

"Five years, nine months."

A year younger. Kuroo frowned. They'd never be in the same year. "Do you want to be my friend?" he asked. Kenma looked at his mother briefly, and then back down.

"Um...I guess." Kuroo smiled, crouching down next to him.

"Watcha playing, Kenma?"

 

Kenma started at Kuroo's elementary in the spring term, and it became clear to him that he was friendless, shy around the other kids. Not that Kuroo minded, he didn't mind being his only friend. It was fun with him, he ended up growing chattier as they got closer. He was fun to talk to, interesting. Kuroo liked him. He felt warm with him. It was nearly a year later, the next summer on, when they lay next to each other in the grass. Their families had gone on a picnic together, and the boys had gone away together. Their families were close. Kenma didn't have a father, from what Kuroo knew. He lived with his mum and his grandparents, and he didn't seem to like Tetsurou's dad very much, but he was okay with his mother.

"Wait here, Kenma," he said, sitting up. He crawled over to the right, where a huge field of flowers was growing. Kenma made a small sound, rolling over onto his side, dozing. His hair was matted with little bits of grass. Kuroo picked daises from the earth, piercing their stems, looping them together. He knotted in other, bigger flowers too. "Alright, sit up now," Kenma reluctantly sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He had grass and mud stains on his elbows and his clothes. Kuroo kneeled close to him, fitting the crown over his head. "Cute," he mumbled, grinning at the other boy.

"Thank you, Kuro," Kenma whispered, reaching out to touch his wrist.

"You're welcome, Kenma." They set shoulder to shoulder for a little bit, warm in the summer breeze, comforted. Kenma yawned, and he leaned over, resting his cheek on Kuroo's bare shoulder. He put his hand on the older boy's, and they sat there, close. Kuroo felt his heart stutter, and looking back on it, he knew he clearly felt love for Kenma, even then.

 

It was years later, when they'd found a word for it. For what they were. They were sat in the library after school - Wednesdays were the days they spent at Kenma's house, but there had been an emergency at work, and his mum couldn't come straight away. Kenma was working studiously on his math homework, his legs swinging absentmindedly under the desk. Kuroo's cheek rested on his hand, his pen had been tapping at the start of a sentence he was supposed to translate into English, and he was watching Kenma. The way he itched the side of his nose with his bitten down nails, the way strips of his hair would come loose from behind his ear, and he would quickly stuff them back. His fingers and lips were bloodied and chewed. Tetsurou's dad had told him that there was a reason for it - for Kenma's weird behaviour. He couldn't remember the word for it. He had another word pressed up against the front of his brain. "We were talking today, me and the other boys in my class," Kuroo began, and Kenma nodded silently, not looking up from his work. "And we got onto the topic of dating. And stuff like that." Another nod. "There's a word for two boys being together. Two boys being boyfriends with each other." That was when Kenma looked up, his pencil still clutched tightly in his bandaged fingers. "Gay. That's what they said it was."

"Is that us, then?" Kenma asked.

"Uh, I guess so. If you're my boyfriend, then."

"I am your boyfriend," Kenma spoke confidently. _Of course I am - you know that_. Kuroo smiled.

"I love you." That hadn't been the first time he'd said it, and it wouldn't be the last, either.

 

The year between them was one of the only down points of the entire relationship - the long, lonely year between them, when Kenma was in his last year of elementary school, and Kuroo in his first year at junior high. They couldn't spend as much time together as they wanted to, so weekends became an extra special event. They were usually spent at Kuroo's house - being that his house was bigger, and not as quiet. Kenma's grandparents were tired a lot, so they had to be quiet, which was not always one of Tetsurou's strengths. The Kuroo household was full of life. Kenma didn't always do great around crowds, but the Kuroo family was okay. And they were accepting of their relationship. Even at the tender age of twelve and thirteen, their relationship had already gone on for years. Nearly half of Kenma's life had been dominated with this love and adoration he had for Kuroo.

It was around Christmas time, and it was getting dark quickly. It was already dark outside by the time Tetsurou had come home from school, and then him and Kenma had to trudge out in the cold to deliver Christmas cards to their neighbours. On the way back they stopped to buy hot chocolate from a convenience store, drinking it on their way home. Between the cup and Kenma's hand, Kuroo was warm, even without gloves. Kenma slowed to a stop in a quieter part of the city, and Kuroo turned around. "What is it, Kenma?"

"You can see the lights," he said, his golden eyes lit up with greens and reds. Kuroo looked down the street he was looking at, and indeed, he could see light.

"They must have switched them on last weekend. I didn't notice," he confessed. Kenma smiled, leaning his head against Kuroo's arm. He'd had a growth spurt, and now Kenma couldn't properly slot his head onto his shoulder anymore. Kuroo had changed a lot recently. He'd started bulking out. His muscle was growing. His voice was deepening. His school environment had changed a lot, too. The boys in his class were talking about girls now. Kuroo never really got involved with those talks, he didn't really talk to any of them more than for politeness. There was something about the way they spoke, that made him really hesitant to tell them about him and Kenma. But they talked more about what to do on a date, how you were supposed to hold a girl - to kiss her. Kuroo had thought more about kissing, recently. Was that something him and Kenma should do? What if Kenma didn't want to kiss him?

Kenma nuzzled into his side, sipping on his hot chocolate, squeezing his hand tightly in Tetsurou's. And he was overcome with his feelings. Kuroo leaned down, kissing Kenma on top of the head. And when the smaller boy looked up, again on the cheek. Kenma's face flushed red - even more red than it was before, and they filed home in silence, but not before Kenma gave him a final goodbye kiss to the lips, before he quickly retreated into his house.

 

When Kuroo was fourteen, and in his second year of junior high, Kenma joined the school, too. And they started walking home together, and hanging out at lunch times - the things they'd done in elementary school. He held Kenma's hand when they walked, and when he felt nervous at school. They did the things they'd always done. And yet, Kuroo felt eyes on him, more than usual, as he made his way in for registration in the mornings. And at lunchtimes as well, he just...he didn't want to bring Kenma to his classroom anymore. Kenma was ill one day, and Kuroo was alone in the classroom. Usually at lunch, the boys all grouped together on one side of the classroom, and the girls on the other. Kuroo sat at his desk, in the middle of the room near the front, on the outskirts of the girls group. He just wanted to be left alone. But he heard muttering. "Why is Kuroo hanging out with the girls?"

"Didn't you hear - he's basically one of them. Have you seen that kid he's always hanging out with?"

"What the girl with creepy short black hair?"

"That's not a _girl_ , you idiot! It's a boy!"

"What?! Seriously?"

Kuroo continued eating automatically - it was the only thing he could think to do. And then somebody raised they're voice. "Hey Kuroo, is that boy your boyfriend or something?" He felt dizzy. He'd never lied about Kenma, ever. He didn't see any reason to lie. He loved Kenma. The same way his mum loved his dad. The same way all of those couples on the TV did. But Kuroo had noticed a difference. All of those couples he saw were boys and girls. He'd never seen another boy and boy couple. He felt self conscious. Itchy. He couldn't force the words out of his mouth. "Whaat? Seriously - Kuroo's a homo?"

"Who would have thought?"

"I thought gay guys were girly?"

"Well his boy's really girly." The conversation went on, each boy giving their own opinion, each one crueller than the last. And Kuroo sat there. He didn't say anything. He didn't eat anything else.

His mum noticed the difference in him. "What's wrong, sweetie?" she asked. His sisters were upstairs, doing homework, or at club activities. Kuroo had skipped volleyball that day. "Is there...is there something wrong with me?" His mum stopped wiping the counters, and she turned to look at her son.

"Why?"

Tetsurou looked at his hands. "I love Kenma. I'm with Kenma. Kenma is my boyfriend. But the boys at school were saying that like it was a bad thing, and that I was weird and it was wrong for me to like a boy like that. They keep talking about girls and dating girls and kissing girls. And every other couple I see except for me and Kenma are boys and girls. I don't want that. I want to be with Kenma for the rest of my life. I don't want to be with a girl. I don't like girls, I like Kenma. And no one else feels that way about other guys and I don't know what's wrong with me for wanting that." Kuroo's mother stomped over, kneeling down, holding his hands tightly in her own. Her eyes were glassy, tearful. "Tetsurou," she said shakily, "don't you _ever_ say that something is wrong with you for wanting that. There is nothing wrong with you. And there is nothing wrong with your relationship with Kenma. You two are so happy together, and you love each other, and that is all I want for you. All I want is for you to find somebody you love and who is going to take proper care of you. I don't care that you love a boy. I just want you to be happy. And as long as he brings you happiness, Tetsu, there is _nothing_ wrong with dating another boy." He looked at her blankly, his eyes filled with tears. He felt ashamed.

The next day at school, Kenma was still ill, and he dreaded going to the classroom. He figured he should just find somewhere else to go, but he couldn't think of anywhere else. He sat in his seat, staring hard at his lunch, his heart pumping in his chest and in his ears. He wanted to just ignore everything else. And then he realised there was somebody standing over his desk. "Hey, Kuroo, do you want to eat outside with me?" There was a boy standing over him - he wasn't very tall, and his light hair was cut short.

"Sure..." he agreed breathily, following the smaller boy outside. They sat down in the grass, and the other boy sighed, pulling his lunch box open.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," he said, and Kuroo looked down.

"No, it's okay I ju-"

"No, seriously. The other guys ripping into you like that was totally uncalled for. I hate it." He shook his head, picking out some fish from his lunch box. "I'm Yaku Morisuke, by the why. Sorry, I know we haven't really talked before. I just didn't want you to eat by yourself."

"It's okay...thank you."

"I guess it'll just be for today, hm? Your friend from the lower year is just sick right now?"

"Yeah, he'll be back tomorrow. You can still sit with us though - if you want to, I mean."

"Nah, I mean, wouldn't it be awkward, since you're dating?"

"I don't think so....it's not really that much of a..."

"You _are_ dating him though, right?"

Kuroo bit his lip. Yaku was watching him silently, no expectation or disgust in his face. "Um, yeah. We're dating." Yaku smiled and nodded.

"That's cool. I guess boys can be cute, too."

 

Yaku became a strong friend in Kuroo's life, somebody to lean on when things got hard. And boy, did they get tough. Kuroo and Kenma's relationship became almost entirely hidden to exchanges at home. It became too unnerving - to be pointed out in public, talked about at school. It scared Kenma a lot. So they had to stay at home, kissing each other quietly in the comfort of their bedrooms. In high school, it became slightly less scary. Everyone focussed a lot on exams, not many people went to their junior highs, not many people knew at all that Kuroo and Kenma were gay.

Yaku had never really explicitly told Kuroo that he liked boys, either. He just sort of learned from Yaku's frequent changes in crushes and boyfriends. Kuroo didn't even know where he _found_ so many eligible men. Kuroo didn't know anyone outside the three of them.

And then, by some random favour of the universe, he met Bokuto Koutarou. He went to a different high school - an academy - but they became fast friends. And Kenma seemed to like him too. He laughed at his jokes, when  Bokuto got too excited and fell over things. Bokuto was a good friend. He was fun to be with, and he gave good advice. He was easy to talk to. And yet, Kuroo didn't tell him he was with Kenma. Because, despite Yaku's openness about his own sexuality, and despite his mother telling him there was nothing wrong with it, he still felt ashamed. He was dating a man. Kenma was a man. He was sixteen years old now. It had been eleven years since they'd first met, and his love for him and only grown. And he didn't tell Bokuto - his best friend - anything.

It was only towards the end of the year, when they were thinking about going away to  university, to study. Bokuto was excited to study art, and to get away and meet new people. And Kuroo was horrified. He had never been away from Kenma for anything more than a week or two. He didn't know how he was going to cope with nearly a full year away. It was an anxiety that was eating away at him. They were sat in Bokuto's room - Bokuto, Kuroo and Yaku-  talking about life and university, where they were planning to go. Bokuto had to organise his art portfolio, decide which pieces represented him as a person. Kuroo didn't want to talk about it anymore. "Bokuto," he said evenly, and the other boy looked up. "I really don't want to go to university." The boy's face softened, and he nodded understandably,

"Well yeah, being away from home and family is gunna be really hard and I-"

"No, it's not just family," Kuroo shook his head. "Kenma. I don't want to be away from him. He's my boyfriend. I really not want to be apart from him." Bokuto froze, and Yaku smirked, pulling one of his earphones out to listen. "Wait. You and Kenma,"

"Are gay. Together."

"What?! How could you not tell me? How long?!" Bokuto started bombarding him with questions. Yaku was cackling.

"I can't believe you didn't realise!" he howled, clutching his stomach. Bokuto looked at the ground.

"Well then...knowing that, I guess this makes this entire group a gay group." Yaku and Kuroo promptly stopped laughing, to stare at the other boy. He shrugged, biting his lip nervously. "Dude," Kuroo breathed. "This whole time...I was scared me having a boyfriend would freak you out!"

"I felt exactly the same thing about you! Well, not the boyfriend part, but...you know!"

" _Both_ of you were completely fine with me being gay, so why not each other?" Yaku interjected, and Bokuto and Kuroo looked at each other, with no other answer but to burst into laughter.

 

Kenma started his YouTube channel while Kuroo was away. He'd always been a popular reviewer for games. His writing style was cut-throat, witty, and sharp in a way that Kenma never really had confidence enough to say out loud. He made walkthroughs on his channel, and Kuroo watched them all, amused by ever single offhand comment that Kenma didn't mean to say that slipped out, every single bitchy thought he tried to cover up.

And then, videos stopped coming, and slowly, Kenma's messages were cut down to bare minimums. His calls were cut short. He just said he was tired. Kuroo wasn't prepared to come home and see Kenma the way he was. He had dropped clothing sizes, and was skipping a lot of school. The days he did attend, he usually wasn't there for the full day. And his mum didn't know what to do. She was worried sick. There seemed no reason for Kenma's sudden lack of appetite, his lack of activity - the pain he was feeling. Kuroo didn't know what it was, either. They stopped having sex - Kenma just didn't have the energy. And they stopped kissing, as well. He didn't have the energy for that either. Soon, all he did have the energy for was getting dressed, going downstairs, and napping in the garden with Kuroo. His breath was soft and shallow, and sometimes, Kuroo thought with horror, he looked completely dead.

He'd been told to prepare for the worst. Kenma's family hadn't actually said it, but they'd implied it. The frequent doctor's visits told them nothing. Nobody had any answers. Kenma just got frailer and frailer. His health getting worse. He graduated high school a fraction of the person he was. Kuroo didn't sleep a lot during that time. He cried a lot as well. It really did feel like he was losing Kenma. He'd been his partner, his soul mate for so much of his life, he couldn't, wouldn't think of a world without him. He couldn't remember when he suggested they marry. It was too much of a haze in what felt like a bad dream. Kenma had agreed, and the occasion had been planned hastily. It wasn't big, it wasn't fancy, but it was perfect. Kenma was tired, and the ceremony only lasted for a few hours, but he enjoyed it. He truly did.

They still lived apart, life went on as it had before their marriage. They didn't have rings, didn't share a last name, all that had changed was their legal status. And yet that was the most important thing for them. It meant that, when Kenma's body finally gave up - when he was admitted to Intensive Care - that Kuroo could visit him. Kenma lay very still in his hospital bed, tubes connecting him to machines, helping to feed him, keep his pain down. Kuroo's eyes were raw and red. He forgot about university, forgot about everything else except Kenma. Whenever he was there, he crawled silently into bed next to him, and lay there, tracing soft patterns on Kenma's blue but warm skin, watching him sleep. Other people - family, came and went. Kenma gained weight, gained energy. His skin regained some of its colour, and he was able to stay awake for longer. He was out of the hospital within a matter of weeks, but was still confined to home. He had nursing staff coming and going nearly constantly. And Kuroo practically moved in. Kenma needed a lot of help in remission. He needed help with a lot of things. He was slow, tired, and Kuroo was infinitely patient. He never blamed Kenma, he never shouted, even when he wanted to. He was nothing but supportive. When Kenma insisted that he was going to keep on making videos, Kuroo helped him with whatever he needed. Kenma didn't tell any of his fans what had happened. He'd disappeared for nearly a year, and he never gave any explanation. He wasn't honest with his viewers, which was what led Kuroo to make his own channel, to tell people the stories that Kenma never really told. The funny stories that Tetsurou had experienced with him as a kid, the stupid things they'd done, the weird, the outrageous and the trying times they'd had. The stories of what made them a couple - the stories that defined them since the day they met.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my head for the au, Kenma and his mother escaped an abusive relationship, which feeds into Kenma's mistrust of new people, and his skin picking. I will probably go more in depth into the modern KuroKen relationship, as this is just their past.  
> I have a [ tumblr](http://anri-kun.tumblr.com/) that you can talk to me on!

**Author's Note:**

> This is literally a two parter b/c I wrote it and I couldn't find a way to link this part and the next part, but this part seemed somewhat necessary (it's probably not)  
> Kuroo and Kenma thing based on my [Headcanon.](http://anri-kun.tumblr.com/post/135966707449/theres-never-been-a-time-when-anyone-in-the-club) I think it's super adorable for them to have been boyfriends for forever.  
> I also have a [tumblr.](http://anri-kun.tumblr.com/) If you wanna know anything else, feel free to ask me there!


End file.
